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Lot essay

William de la Montagne Cary received early training as an illustrator for such publications as Harper's and Leslie's, documenting his fascination with the changing environment and landscape of the West throughout his life. Based on memory and sketches from two trips west in 1861 and 1874, Cary's works are often rich narratives that present an intimate and authentic view of the scenery and people he came across on his travels from the upper Missouri to Oregon. "All along the way the artist was deeply affected by the great changes that had already overtaken the western frontier. Many of the forts and Indian tribes had disappeared, and he wrote in his journal that he often caught himself 'dreaming of the past and of those who were never to return.'" (R. Stewart, The American West: Legendary Artists of the Frontier, Dallas, Texas, 1986, p. 42)